Telemetering



Aug. 1, 1939. ARNQLD 2,168,149-

TELEMETERING Filed-June 30, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 flan 5c TING mum l/MENT Pom/ THE 2o 9/ I I! maMrM/Tnne JELECT/VE (005 l5 l7 fawn/awe 54m Inventor August Arnold,

H Attorney.

Aug. 1, 1939. I ARNOLD 2,168,149

TELEMETERING Filed June 50, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Safer/V6 Coos Expo/mm: Eemy Inventor:

August Arnold I cations, and the like.

a form, I provide one confusion.

electrical. connections; .diagram ot a. modification of the arrangement Patented Aug. 1, 1939 PATENT OFFICE TELEMETERING August Arnold,

General Electric New York Application June so, 1937, Serial No. In Germany October 22, 1936 Brussels, Belgium, assignor to. Company, a corporation oi.

4 Claims. (Cl. 177-351) My invention relates tomethods and apparatus for transmission of measurements, positions, indi- Th'e invention relates particularly to telemetering arrangements operating 0111 the impulse irequenty or impulse time princip e.

It is an object of my invention to provide an arrangement for transmitting indications over an ordinary telephone system receivable in any part of the system by an ordinary telephone receiver.

It is an object of my invention to provide an arrangement whereby indications may be received by telephoneat any telephone station by calling the station at which the telemetering apparatus is located.

It is a further object" of my invention to provide apparatus whereby a plurality of measurements or indications may be transmitted without Still another object of my invention is to. provide an arrangement whereby such indications may either be received automatically or upon request.

-It is also an object of my invention to provide an arrangement whereby a plurality of indications may be received automatically in rotation or selectively as desired.

Other and further objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In carrying out my invention in its preferred or more buzzers for producing tone impulses. tIn case more than one measurement or indication is to be transmitted, I may provide a buzzer having a distinctive tone corresponding to each measurement or indication. In transmitting each measurement or indication, I cause the buzzers to be connected to a telephone system and disconnected therefrom a number of times corresponding to the magnitude of the measurement or the position indication so that the number of tone impulses receivedin the telephone represents the ineasured quantity or the position indication.

The invention may be understood more readily" from the iollow ingnetailed description when con sidered in connection with the accompanying drawings and those features of the invention which are believed to be novel and patentable will be pointed out in the'claims appended hereto. In' the drawings, Fig. 1 is mschematic diagram of one. embodiment of my invention showing the and Fig. 2 is a schematic of Fig. 1 particularlyadapted for transmitting a plurality of indications, L l? reference charwinding H connected between the will be understood that the winding 13 is so arhaving a movable pointer 2, the angular position of which is to be indicated at a distant station. The movable pointer 2 is provided with a contact 3, and a stationary contact d is provided at the lower end of the scale of the instrument 5 preferably beyond the zero instrument in order that zero indications, as well as other indications, may be transmitted. Accordingly, the stationary contact Cl is placed at the angular position corresponding to a hypothetical reading 0', which would be less than the zero, 15 reading of th instrument i.

In order'to cause tone impulses to be transmitted for a periodof time corresponding to the angular position of the pointer 22, a rotatable contact 5 is provided, which is adapted to touch the '20 contacts 4 and 3 in succession. The rotatable contact 5 is preferably arranged to be moved at constant speed and may either be advanced up scale repeatedly or may be continuously rotated, for example, by means of a constant speed motor 6, such as a synchronous motor connected to a suitable'source of alternating current. Preferably the synchronous motor 5 includes suitable speed reduction gearing. a

To control the starting and stopping of the '30 transmission of tone impulses in accordance with the touching of contacts 4 and 3 by the rotating contact 5, a relay 1 having a normally open contact la is provided. The relay 1 has an energizing negative'side of a suitable current source 12 and the stationary contact 4.. The rotating contact 5 is connected tothe positive side of the source 72 so that, when the contacts 4 and 5 touch, an energizing circuit is closed-through the winding ll of the relay 1. 4

The relay I is also provided witha contact 8, which closes upon energization to form 'a holding circuit therefor. In order to deenergize relay 1 when the contact 5 touches the contact 3, the contact 3 is connected either directly to the negative side of the energizing winding H to short circuit it and thereby trip out the-relay or it is connected through a separate deenergizing winding 13 to the negative side of the source 12. It.

0 ranged as to move the contacts of the relay I in the opposite direction from the energizing wind:

ing ll, thereby positively opening: the contacts. For the purpose of producing a numberof tone impulses corresponding to the angular inoposition of the scale of the lid tion of the contact between the positions of the contacts 4 and 3, a bank of arcuately spaced stationary contacts 9 is provided. Cooperating therewith, there is a rotatable contact III, which is also driven by the motor 6. For producing the a tone impulses, a suitable tone-emitting device,

such as a buzzer II, isprovided, having an energizing winding III operating a make-andbreak device 2 and energized by a suitable source II3. If desired, a switch I2 may be provided in the circuit of the source I I3 for the purpose of causing the buzzer to be operated only phone station' I4. From the telephone station I4,'the usual conductorsJ5 may extend to other telephone stations or-to a telephone central or exchange in the well known manner. However the telephone system need not necessarily be a wire line system andthe communication channel used may consist of a phantom circuit, carrier current, channel or radio waves. The telephone system itself is not a part of my invention but my invention may conveniently be employed inconnection. with telephone system's for the reason that such systems include well-known devices for calling desired stations and the application of my invention to a telephone system makes it unnecessary to install additional conductors -or communication channels betweenthe sending and receiving stations for telemetering purposes.

The manner of operation of the apparatus will be apparent from the drawings. When it is desired to start transmission of indications over the telephone system'to which the station I4 is connected, the buzzer switch I2 is closed as well as a switch Iicontrolling the synchronous motor 6. Thereupon; the contacts '5 and II). are caused to rotate. when the rotating contact 5 and the stationary contact 4 touch, the relay'l is energized, closing the contact la in the circuit of the buzzer 'II. As the contact IIl'continues to rotate, it passes the arcuately spaced stationary contacts 9 in succession andthe buzzer circuit to the telephone station I4 is *repeatedly made and broken. The making and breaking of these contacts produce a series of-tone impulses in the telephone system, and the production of impulses I in the telephone continues until the rotating conmitted would not depend upon the speed oithe 05' tact 5 touches the pointercontact 3 and trips'out the relay I toopen the telephone circuit, of the buzzer III at the contact la.

Although the motor 6 is preferably a substantially constant speed motor, constant speed is not necessary in the arrangement shown, for it will be seen that the numberof tone impulses transmotor 6 but upon the number of contacts of the group 9 embracedbetween the angular positions ofthe contacts 4 and 3 of the instrument I.

However, in cases where some other type of repeating contactmaker and breaker is substituted for the arrangement 9-"), for example, a simple timed repeating make-and-break device, it is desirable that the motor 6 run at substantially, constant speed so that the time interval between the closing of contacts! and 3'may be representative of the angular position of the pointer Z, F L

instance, a make and break device 26 may b substituted for the rotating contact device 9-! by moving switch blades 21 to theleft. The device 26 itself is not a part of my invention and may be constructed in any desired well-known manner consisting, for example, of an operating winding 28 cooperating with an armature carrying an operating contact 29, a control contact 30 and having means such as a dash pot 3| for causing the armature to operate at a slow speed. It will-be understood that the make and break device 26 will be of such a design as to operate sufliciently slowly to have the contact 30 closed for sufliciently long intervals to permit tone impulses to be transmitted by the buzzer II.

It will be understood that the buzzer I I and the motor 6 may be run continuously in order that an indication may be received whenever the telephone station I4 is called. It will further be.

' apparent that it is immaterial what type of telephone system is employed, and the arrangement is equally well adapted to systems having, for example, either manual or machine-switching telephone exchanges.

In case it is desired to set the apparatus in operation only upon call, a-code-responsive relay Il maybe provided, which is connected to the telephone line I5 and controls closing windings I8 and I9 of theswitches l2 and I6 to permit starting of the apparatus upon the transmission of a predetermined code signal over the telephone lines I5. It will be understood that, if desired, forcausing the selective reception of indications from more than one instrument, one or more additional telemetering transmitting arrangements, such as the device 20 with the arcuately spaced contact bank 9 and measuring instru- ,inent I, corresponding to the apparatus already described, may also be connected to the coderesponsive relay-l1 and the-telephone station I4. It will be understood, of course, that the coderesponsive relay I1 is, in this case, so arranged as toener gize the apparatus 20 in response to a difierent code signal than the windings I8 and I9.

The construction of the code-responsive relay I'I,

invention.

Where a plurality of signals or indications is i to be transmitted, this may be done also without duplication of the apparatus, and the same re- 'peating contact maker and'breaker 9-"), for example, may be employed for producing tone impulses for a plurality of measuring instruments. For example, in the arrangement of Fig. 2, two measuring instruments I and I are shown with therotating contacts 5 and 5 and the movable pointers 2 and 2 corresponding to parts designated by the same numerals" in Fig. 1". A

rotating selector switch 2| ,is provided, which connects the rotating contacts 5 and 5" in succession to the positive side of the source I2, and

the time duration of each connection is such that the successive rotating contacts 5 and. 5' are permitted to travel through the complete path before the connection is transferred by the selector switch 2| from the contact '5 to the contact 5'. The selector switch 2| may be driven by a suit able step-by-step arrangement, such as a uniform speed motor driving through a Geneva gear or a" step-by-step ratchet motor 22.

It will be seen that, in the arrangement thus far described, the instruments I and I and any additional instruments which may be used are connected to the system in succession and that,

by knowing the order in which the instruments 75 instrument I'. It a plurality of buzzers is em-' played, any suitable arrangement, such as a second selector switch-23 synchronized with the selector switch 2| as by means of direct mechanical connections or gearing 24, may be employed to cause the buzzer H to be connected in the telephone circuit when the rotating contact is connected to the current source 12 and to cause the buzzer H to be connected in the telephone circuit when the rotating contact i is connected to the current source 12. For transmissionoi simple "on? and oil indications the arrangement may also be such thatone buzzer sounds for on indications, and another for 011" indications. r

I have herein shown and particularly described certain embodiments of my invention and certain. methods of operation embraced therein for the purpose or explaining its principle andshowing its application, but it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations are possible andI aim, therefore, to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of my invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 'Patent 0! the United States,

1. A transmitter for a telemetering system adapted to utilize a communication channel of a telephone system comprising in combination, an indicating instrument having a movable pointer carrying a contact, a stationary contact at the lbwer end 0! the scale of said instrument, a rotatable contact adapted to cooperate with said stationary contact and said pointer contact. a motor driving said rotatable contact, a second rotatable contact also driven by said motor, a-.

plurality of arcuately spaced stationary contacts cooperating with said second rotatable contact,'a pair of input terminals of a c'ommimication system,'a buzzer, a relay having normally open contacts and having opening and closing windings and a holding circuit, and a source or current with connections to said relay windings and said first rotatable contact, said communication-system input terminals, buzzer, second rotatable contact, spaced stationary contacts, and normally open relay contacts being connected in acircuit, said lower-scale-end stationary contact being connected to said closing winding and said'pointer contact being connected to said opening winding, whereby a plurality or tone impulses depending innumberupon the reading of the said imtrumentis,

2. In a telemetering system a plurality of indicating instruments each having a movable pointer carrying a contact, stationary contacts, one at the lower end of the scale of each instrument, rotatablecontacts, each adapted to cooperate with a corresponding stationary contact and a pointer contact of one of said instruments, a motor driving said rotatable contacts, a rotatable telemeter contact also driven by said motor,

a plurality of arcuately spaced telemeter stationary contacts cooperating with said telemeter rotatable contact, a pair of input terminals of a communication system,- a plurality of buzzers, one of said buzzers, said communication-system input terminals, said telemeter rotatable contact.

and said telemeter stationary contacts being connected to form a buzzer circuit, a relay having normally open contacts in said buzzer circuit and having opening and closing windings and a holding circuit, a source of currentwith connections to said relay windings and one of said instrument rotatable contacts, said instrument stationary contacts being'conne'cted to said closing winding and said pointer contacts being connected to said opening winding, and a selector switch for simul-- taneously substituting another of said buzzers and another of said rotatable instrument contacts tor the buzzer and the rotatablecontact in their respective circuits.

3. In a telemtering system, an indicating i11 strument having a scale and cooperating movable pointer, a buzzer, a communication channel in responsive relation to said buzzer, a relay having a normally open. contact in circuit with said buzzer and having a closing winding and an opening winding, :2. current source with a pair of terminals, to one oi which each of said relay windings is connected on one side, a contact connected to the other of said current source terminals rotatable along said instrument scale, a lower-end stationary contact connected to said closing winding for closing said relay when said rotatable'contact crosses a predetermined position at the lowerend of said scale and a contact carried by the instrument pointer and connected to said opening winding for opening said relay when said rotatable contact crosses the position of the pointer, a second rotatable contact'in circuit with said buzzer, a plurality of arcuately spaced electrically connected stationary contacts cooperating with said second rotatable contact,

and a motor driving said rotatable contacts, I

4. A telemetering system comprising in combination, a plurality of measuring instruments, a plurality of tone-emitting devices with diflerent tones, a telephone system, means for connecting a tone-emitting device to said telephone system and disconnecting it therefrom a number of times dependent upon the reading of one oi the measuring instruments, and's'elector means for' successively placing diflerent tone-emitting devices and corresponding measuringinstruments in operative relation with-said connecting and disconnecting means.

AUGUST ARNOLD. 

